Carnival Freedom Review
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We chose this cruise for the ports of Honduras and Belize. We arrived into Houston a couple of days before the cruise to get some shopping in. We had a meal in a Texas Roadhouse in Houston. A great stake meal for two for $74 including tip. We booked the transfer to Galveston with Galveston Express. On time and reliable. Embarkation was fairly straightforward and we were on board by 12.30 and in the Cabin by 1:30. We tried to change from fixed to anytime dining, but were unsuccessful. Our baggage arrived but unfortunately one of our bags was damaged beyond repair. You don’t really expect that just getting the bag from the quay to the cabin.
At dinner we were assigned a table for two that rally felt squeezed in between two rows of booths so we felt as though we were in a fish bowl with waiters constantly passing on both sides. The staff on the freedom are excellent, but seem to be working with limited resources. There doesn’t seem to be a dedicated drinks waiter any more and consequently drinks took a long time to order and arrive, on one occasion our glass of wine arrived with the desert. Also the food is not of the same standard of our last cruise with Carnival in 2014. Like other cruise lines they are now offering some stakes and seafood for an additional fee that were once part of the everyday menu. Eg NewYork Strip Stake. The dress code for dinner in the posh restaurant is also not enforced. On one accasion I counted five pairs of flip flops in my immediate sight line. Unfortunately, dinner in Carnival’s main restaurants is no longer a special experience. A plus for Carnival is the burger bar which serve good tasty burgers until early evening. On the last night we decided to try the stake house restaurant. Nice surroundings and good service. However Carnival please don’t describe $70 plus tips for two as a “nominal” fee when the food was no better than the Texas Roadhouse.
The comedians in the comedy club were excellent and definitely another plus for carnival. The main theatre shows however were less impressive and didn’t warent a second visit. The cruise director was warm and funny and seemed a genuinely nice chap.
Cabin Review
Balcony
The cabin was clean and larger than I expected with a functional shower room. The balcony was small compared to other ships
Port Reviews
Costa Maya
As this was a last minute change we had no information on the port other than the cruise excursions and as the weather was bad didn’t want to take the chance on a snorkelling excursion. The cruise port was packed, the harmony of the seas was in and Norwegian escape so the port experience was like a mall on Black Friday. In retrospect I wish we had gone into town for a twenty dollar massage.
Roatan
Took a taxi to west bay and snorkelled the reef. Even though it was raining the reef was the best I’ve snorkelled. The taxi waited and got us back to the ship in plenty of time.